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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28501857">Pack 7: The Formation of the GOT7 Pack</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krissy170/pseuds/Krissy170'>Krissy170</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>GOT7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Im Jaebum | JB, Alpha Mark Tuan, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Choi Youngjae, Beta Park Jinyoung (GOT7), Corporal Punishment, Family Dynamics, Mentioned Bangtan Boys | BTS Member(s), Multi, Omega Jackson Wang, Omega Kim Yugyeom, Omega Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam, Pack Dynamics, Spanking, but not at all a major part of the storyline, easy to skip those parts, like seriously it's just how they punish naughty maknaes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:02:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28501857</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krissy170/pseuds/Krissy170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>JJ Project was disbanded in order to form a new group that would be called GOT7. This was a time of huge change for everyone involved, especially JB and Jinyoung. The boys, as well as their 5 new bandmates must navigate forming a new group together as well as figuring out where they stand as a pack. Will the 7 of them make a pack together? Do they belong together? Are the seven of them...Just Right? (sorry, I promise no terrible puns in the actual story...or do I?)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>BamBam/Choi Youngjae/Im Jaebum/Kim Yugyeom/Park Jinyoung/Mark Tuan/Jackson Wang, Choi Youngjae/Everyone, GOT7 Ensemble/Everyone, Im Jaebum | JB/Everyone, Jackson Wang/Everyone, Kim Yugyeom/Everyone, Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Everyone, Mark Tuan/Everyone, Park Jinyoung (GOT7)/Everyone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>107</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this story came about because I'm constantly on a hunt for a really good GOT7 OT7 pack dynamics fic. Some of the best ones that I've found have them being the side characters to the plot line of another group. I really wanted to put out some more GOT7 A/B/O fics on this site, so I decided to create my own! </p><p>To those of you that read my other story, it is in no way, shape, or form abandoned. I will still be updating that one as well :) </p><p>One last thing, I tried to make this story fit their actual timeline as much as possible but there are things that I have changed for ease of story or that we are actually unclear of the exact dates of. If something is off with the time or the specifics of how things happened, please remember that this is a work of fiction and not meant to exactly reflect what happened to them in the past. With that said, I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter One </p>
<p>	Jaebeom certainly had no idea what the future was going to hold for him when he auditioned for JYP Entertainment. All he knew was that he enjoyed music, and he certainly enjoyed dancing, b-boying most especially. When he met Jinyoung, they just happened to click immediately. There was just an instant connection and chemistry between the two. They ended up tying for first place out of 10,000 applicants, and one could say that was where the two became inseparable. They trained together for a few years, before making their acting debut in 2012 with Dream High 2 and then their idol debut with their duo called JJ Project. Around the time of the release of Dream High 2, Jaebeom reached his 18th birthday meaning that he had his presentation. He--to the surprise of virtually no one--presented as an alpha. Pretty much everything about Jaebeom screamed stereotypical alpha. He was clearly a natural born leader. He had a very strong protective streak for the ones that he loved. He was very traditional and by the book, and he most certainly could make his presence intimidating, when he wanted to. </p>
<p>	Jinyoung followed in September of 2012, reaching his own 18th birthday. He presented as a beta, once more to the shock of very few--certainly not Jaebeom. Jaebeom had always found Jinyoung’s presence comforting. While Jaebeom’s scent was the strong smell of bergamot, Jinyoung was a much lighter scent of peaches. This was much to the chagrin of the boy who knew that he had quite a large backside, often compared to a peach. The two of them certainly weren’t enough people to be in a pack--it was rare for packs to be smaller than 5 people, although not entirely unheard of. However, that really wasn’t on either of their minds yet. They were just so thrilled to be able to debut and start to follow their dreams. They were very much aware of how few people were ever able to even debut as an idol, let alone make it in the industry. They were going to do everything in their power to focus on work, so that they could succeed. </p>
<p>	“We are pulling the plug on JJ Project,” producer Park Jinyoung said one afternoon in mid-2013, after calling the two boys into his office. </p>
<p>	Jinyoung stared at his company CEO in shock, while Jaebeom, who was sat next to him, sat with his jaw dropped open. </p>
<p>	“I’m sorry, sir,” Jaebeom finally managed to choke out. “Did we do something wrong that I wasn’t aware of?” <br/>	“No, it’s not something that either of you are entirely responsible for I’m afraid,” producer Jinyoung replied. “It’s just that there is something...missing. You guys are good, but I’m afraid not good enough. You just don’t have that same intrigue that say Wonder Girls, 2AM, 2PM, or Miss A has. There needs to be something more.” <br/>	“Are you kicking us out?” Jinyoung asked, trying to rapidly make sense of the words that were coming out of the producer’s mouth. <br/>	“Not at all!” producer Jinyoung replied, aghast at the thought. “You two are insanely talented. I would be an idiot to throw that away.” <br/>	“So what are you saying then?” Jaebeom asked, trying to keep his voice even and show as little emotion as possible. “I’m not sure that I follow.” <br/>	“I want you guys in a group,” producer Jinyoung replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You two will go back to being trainees for a little bit while we put together a new team. I’m thinking there will be around 6 of you.”<br/>“And do you already know who some of these other members are going to be?” Jinyoung asked. <br/>“A few of them, yes,” producer Jinyoung replied. “Do you know Jackson?” </p>
<p>Jaebeom and Jinyoung made eye contact for a moment at that. Did they know Jackson? The more appropriate question was if anyone in the building DIDN’T know Jackson. The boy could literally socialize with a telephone pole if he wanted. He was loud, and exuberant, and a lot to handle at times. </p>
<p>“From Hong Kong?” Jaebeom asked politely, receiving a nod in reply. “Yes, I’m fairly certain the entire city of Seoul might know Jackson at this point.” <br/>“Yes--he does like to socialize,” producer Jinyoung replied with a chuckle. “That’s why he will be a perfect addition to you two. Now what about Mark Tuan?” <br/>“Erm--quiet? Hangs out with Jackson...or well puts up with Jackson’s endless chatter?” Jinyoung asked. <br/>“That sounds about right,” producer Jinyoung replied. “He is from Los Angeles so he speaks fluent English, which will be insanely beneficial for your team. Then we have Yugyeom. I assume you know him as well?” <br/>“Yeah, we’ve gotten fairly close with Yugyeom,” Jaebeom admitted. “He calls me when things get...well when trainees get mean sometimes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Park Jinyoung nodded in understanding. He would never endorse trainees bullying each other, but he was well aware that there were bound to be things that happened while his back was turned. He wasn’t stupid. It’s a very competitive industry, especially as a trainee. He was happy to hear that Yugyeom had found someone to turn to, and he was sure that Jaebeom was doing his best to protect the boy while not fully coddling him. </p>
<p>“Your close relationship with him will be even more of an asset then,” producer Jinyoung added with a satisfied nod. <br/>“So who is the 6th member then?” Jinyoung asked.<br/>“His name is Choi Youngjae,” producer Jinyoung replied. “He is from Mokpo and he just started here less than a week ago.” </p>
<p>Jinyoung and Jaebeom looked at the CEO in shock once more. He had just started and was already good enough to be placed in a debuting group? This boy had to be incredibly talented---or happened to know the right people. </p>
<p>“Three of the boys that will be in your group are preparing for a show that YG is hosting,” producer Jinyoung continued. “They will be appearing on it later this afternoon, which I actually have to be leaving shortly to go do as well. You two need to go back to your dorm and get packing. You will be moving together into a new dorm tomorrow where you will be joined by those other boys.”</p>
<p>Jinyoung and Jaebeom knew that they ultimately had no say in the matter, so they nodded and thanked the man for his time. If Park Jinyoung said that they were going to be in a group, well then they were going to be in a group. It was either that or leave the company and may the odds ever be in their favor. </p>
<p>“This is going to be a big change ‘Nyongie,” Jaebeom said, plopping down on his bed while shoving some more of his clothes into his bag. “Do you think I’m even still going to be the leader?” <br/>“They would be insane to put anyone else as the leader,” Jinyoung replied. “Hyung, you are so clearly meant to fill that role. Anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy.”  <br/>“But how am I going to deal with them?” Jaebeom asked. “What if they don’t listen to me? You have always been so easy. We get on like white on rice. And isn’t Mark an alpha, as well? What if he wants to fight me for the position of leader?” <br/>“I have hardly heard Mark string 15 words together,” Jinyoung pointed out. “I really don’t think he is going to fight you for the position of leader. Besides, I think he is still very much learning Korean. It wouldn’t make sense for him to take the place.” <br/>“But what if--” Jaebeom began to fret again. <br/>	“Stop!” Jinyoung cried out, jumping on top of his hyung and crushing him on the bed. “You are letting your thoughts go crazy, silly alpha. What if the sky turns into cotton candy? What if we wake up tomorrow and everything is upside down?” <br/>	“Now you are being ridiculous. My questions at least had merit,” Jaebeom argued. <br/>	“But they can be answered about as well as mine can,” Jinyoung shot back. “Stop worrying about the what ifs, and start focusing on the present. You are always going to be my leader, and I promise those boys are going to look up to you as well. We can’t know what is going to happen in the future, so stop trying to figure it out.” <br/>	“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Jinyoung-ah,” Jaebeom said with a laugh. <br/>	“I know, I’m the gift that keeps on giving,” Jinyoung said in reply, sticking his tongue out in reply before jumping up off the bed to avoid the playful swat Jaebeom was swinging at him. “Now let’s get back to packing! Manager-nim is going to be here at 8am tomorrow morning.” </p>
<p>-- </p>
<p>	Jinyoung and Jaebeom walked into the practice studio right at 8:15 the next morning. Their manager had gathered the team that was going to move their stuff to the new dorm, and had taken the boys to the company so that they could officially meet the new members of their group. When they walked into the studio they saw that they were actually the last to arrive. The boys who were sat on the floor scrambled to stand, giving a deep bow and confidently saying their greeting of “안녕하세요!” (An-nyeong-ha-se-yo!). </p>
<p>	“I will leave you boys to get to know each other for a bit. PD-nim wants to speak with you in a bit, so he will be here shortly,” the manager said before walking back out of the practice room. </p>
<p>	Jinyoung looked at Jaebeom in askance--hinting that the boy should lead the conversation. Jaebeom saw that the other four were staring at him wide-eyed and in awe, watching him closely. </p>
<p>	“Why don’t we all sit down,” Jaebeom suggested, gesturing to the floor. </p>
<p>	All of the boys immediately did as asked of them, and Jinyoung gave him a smile of reassurance. </p>
<p>	“Right...erm my name is Im Jaebeom,” Jaebeom began. “I’m not sure if I’m going to be the leader of this team as well. I was the leader and one half of JJ Project. I’m 19 years old and I’m an alpha.” <br/>	“I’m the other half,” Jinyoung spoke up. “I’m Park Jinyoung. I will be turning 19 this September and I’m a beta.” <br/>	“It’s so nice to be joining the team with you guys!” Jackson added in, practically looking like he was vibrating in excitement. “I’m Wang Ka-Yee, or Wang Jia-Er, but really you can just call me Jackson! I’m from Hong Kong. I’m also 19 years old and I’m an omega, although some people don’t believe me when I say that because I have lots of muscles. But those people are just idiots. Omegas can be as strong as they want I say! Right B-Boy King?” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom just stared at Jackson in shock for a few moments before coming to his senses and nodding and gesturing towards Mark to give his introduction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	“Mark. I’m from LA,” Mark informed, playing with the sleeve of his long-sleeved t-shirt. “I turn 20 in September and I’m an alpha.” <br/>	“My alpha!” Jackson exclaimed, pulling Mark tightly into his arms--who just chuckled and rolled his eyes. <br/>	“I’m Kim Yugyeom,” Yugyeom introduced. “Erm...I actually know all but one of you so this is awkward, but I’m 15 and I turn 16 in November. I’m from Gyeonggi-do, and clearly I haven’t presented yet, so I have nothing else to add.” <br/>	“Our little pup!” Jackson exclaimed, letting go of Mark to pull Yugyeom into his arms. “And now for our last member? Do you know you look like an otter? Like in the best way!” </p>
<p>	The last member blushed at those words, as well as realizing the attention of the entire room was on him.</p>
<p>	“Erm I’m Choi Youngjae,” Youngjae introduced himself. “I’m turning 17 in September so I still haven’t presented yet either. I’m from Mokpo and I will work hard and do my best!” <br/>	“We have two pups on our team!” Jackson exclaimed, very much looking like a little kid in a candy store. “You two are so cute and little, especially our new maknae Yugyeomie!”<br/>Yugyeom looked at his hyung in confusion. He was very tall for his age and was about as opposite as you could get from the term ‘little’. </p>
<p>Before anyone could say anything more on the matter, the door to the practice room opened once more. Producer Park Jinyoung walked through the door with another trainee following behind him. This trainee looked so young that Jaebeom was almost in shock. The boy had to be like 10? 11 maybe? </p>
<p>“Bambam!” Jackson exclaimed, clearly knowing the boy who smiled at him in reply, and nodded towards Mark and Yugyeom before stopping and blushing at the site of Youngjae who also looked a little uncomfortable.</p>
<p>Jaebeom made a mental note of that one, deciding he would ask about it later.  </p>
<p>“After some further review of performances from yesterday’s YG filming,” producer Jinyoung began. “We have decided that you will be a seven member team with Bambam as your final member.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Bambam looked up at the producer in shock. He truly didn’t know why he had been called there this morning. This was beyond his wildest dreams! He thought for sure that he would have to wait a while to debut along with his other trainee friend Bang Chan. </p>
<p>“A choreographer will be here in about 30 minutes to assess your dance level,” producer Jinyoung continued. “And then later this afternoon you will hear and start to practice your debut song called Girls, Girls, Girls. Now I have to be off to a meeting, but congratulations and please work hard to make me proud. Just because I say you can debut now, doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind over the next few months--remember that.”</p>
<p>With that worrying warning, Park Jinyoung was out the doors just as quickly as he had entered them. </p>
<p>“Bambam, is it?” Jaebeom asked, to which he got a nod in reply. “Interesting name.”<br/>“My name is Kunpimook Bhuwakul but we don’t go by that name in Thailand, we go by a different name that we are given. I was given Bambam,” Bambam explained. “I’m from Bangkok.” <br/>“Nice to meet you Bambam,” Jinyoung piped in. “You seem to know everyone else here, but I’m Jinyoung and this is Jaebeom hyung. You surely must be our new maknae?”</p>
<p>Bambam looked around and shifted awkwardly.</p>
<p>“Erm...actually no,” Bambam replied. “I’m older than Yugyeom by around 6 months.” </p>
<p>Jinyoung and Jaebeom both did a double take at that. This tiny boy, who looked to be about 11, was older than the boy who was already on track to being taller than their entire group??? </p>
<p>“I know I’m small, but I promise I’m already 16!” Bambam added on. <br/>“Also I can’t help but ask, how do you know Youngjae-ssi?” Jaebeom asked.</p>
<p>Bambam blushed even more red at that, refusing to make eye contact and instead finding the floor in front of him very interesting. </p>
<p>“I lived in the same trainee dorm with him,” Youngjae explained, clearly seeing that Bambam didn’t want to answer their hyung’s question. “When I first walked in he thought I was someone else and was waiting by the door...with no clothes on.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Jackson and Mark immediately started cracking up at the story, which was contagious and was quickly followed by the rest of the members joining in. Jaebeom mentally noted that Bambam might end up being quite the hand-full as well. Jinyoung PD-nim had certainly put an interesting group of people together. </p>
<p>Yesterday hearing the news of JJ Project’s end had felt like the closing of a story, but now Jaebeom could see that this was just the beginning.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The First Test</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi guys! Thank you to everyone that has read and given this work kudos so far. I am back with the next chapter :) Hope you enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Two </p>
<p>	The first day together didn’t turn out anywhere near the way that Jaebeom thought it would. Things started going downhill in their dance assessment. Yugyeom, much to the delight of everyone--most especially the choreographer--was clearly born to dance. Walking out on the dance floor was where Yugyeom was born to shine. </p>
<p>	“Great job, Yugyeom,” their choreographer praised as the boy wiped sweat from his brow. “You are going to shine as a member of the group! I can already tell!” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom blushed and bowed in thanks. </p>
<p>	“Youngjae-ah,” the choreographer said with a grimace, turning towards the newest trainee of the bunch. “There is a lot that we are going to need to work on. Your dancing can be sloppy at times, not to mention that you struggle to keep up with the speed of the song and the intensity of the choreography. We are going to need to work on your stamina through increased exercise and an intense diet.” </p>
<p>	Youngjae avoided all of the glances that were being sent his way, and instead bowed his head and nodded. With that said, the choreographer wished them a good rest of their day and made his way out of the dance studio. Their manger appeared a few moments later, carrying with him their lunches. Youngjae looked at the other’s meals with jealousy as a small salad was placed in front of him, but said nothing. He wouldn’t be the one to let this group down. </p>
<p>	“So why don’t we get to know each other a little bit better,” Jinyoung suggested as they all sat on the floor, digging into their much deserved meal.<br/>
“What do you want to know?” Jackson asked before taking a long swig of his water.<br/>
“Well,” Jinyoung thought for a moment. “How about any interesting hobbies?”<br/>
“I used to be a fencer,” Jackson replied. “Ranked number one in Asia.” </p>
<p>	The members of the group who weren’t privy to that information turned towards Jackson with their jaws dropped open. </p>
<p>	“And you gave that up?” Jaebeom asked. “To be a trainee? To go through long rigorous exhausting hours of training to potentially never even set foot on a stage?” </p>
<p>	Jackson looked uncomfortable for a moment and then finally shrugged. </p>
<p>	“Just because I was good at fencing doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t pursue my passion that lies elsewhere,” Jackson pointed out. “I know people will think I’m crazy, but I would never forgive myself if I didn’t give this a shot.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom nodded. He could understand that logic. He had plenty of people that thought he was crazy for pursuing this line of work, too. </p>
<p>	“So what about you, Bambam?” Jinyoung asked, looking over at their smallest--and quite frankly cutest--member.<br/>
“I love to dance,” Bambam replied. “I was in a cover dance crew for Rain Sunbaenim. We came in first place.”<br/>
“That’s incredible!” Jackson exclaimed, brightening up from the slightly down mood he had for the last few minutes. “You never told me that! That’s cool right, B-Boy King?” </p>
<p>Jaebeom looked at him in confusion once more. </p>
<p>“It’s hyung,” Jaebeom replied with an astounded laugh.<br/>
“B-Boy King hyung?” Jackson teased, to which Jaebeom couldn’t help but roll his eyes in exasperation.<br/>
“So what about you Mark hyung?” Jinyoung asked, deciding to steer the conversation back to the original topic.<br/>
“I like sports,” Mark replied. “I enjoy skateboarding a lot. I also really like to do martial arts tricking.”<br/>
“I heard!” Jinyoung exclaimed. “You guys were the talk of the company yesterday. Manager hyung said that you guys literally flew through your performance.”<br/>
“It was a lot of fun,” Yugyeom piped in. “Nerve-wracking, for sure, but also a lot of fun. The YG trainees were so cool.”<br/>
“What about you, Youngjae?” Jaebeom asked, noticing that Youngjae had yet to say anything in their conversation.<br/>
“I like to sing,” Youngjae replied.</p>
<p>	And oh boy did that boy have quite the voice. It was later in their vocal practice that Jaebeom and Jinyoung discovered why Youngjae was here and ready to debut in a group so soon after joining the company. The 6 boys watched in awe as Youngjae made the song his own, belting the words in his clear and colorful voice. </p>
<p>	“So it’s definitely talent that got him here,” Jinyoung whispered in Jaebeom’s ear, to which Jaebeom nodded in awe. </p>
<p>	It felt like the day had been a million years long by the time they finally made their way to the new dorm. All of the boys were so ready to crash in their beds and sleep soundly--after showering and eating some dinner, of course. The new dorm honestly wasn’t much different than the old dorms that the boys had been living in, just a few more rooms. In the end it was decided by rock, paper, scissors that Jaebeom and Youngjae would share a room, Bambam and Yugyeom would share a room--with Jinyoung in an attached room, and Mark and Jackson would share a room. The last room in the apartment belonged to their manager, although he would often be so busy that it was rare for them to see him.</p>
<p>	To say that things over the next month or so went smoothly would be--well it would quite frankly be a lie. Tensions were high, and there was just this massive cloud of hidden emotions and feelings and thoughts that seemed to be hovering over them. No one seemed to want to ever say what they were feeling. Jaebeom was trying his hardest to keep himself in a constant state of perfection, not wanting to slip up in front of the others. Jinyoung tried to play mediator between them all, but had mostly given up in defeat. Jackson seemed almost night and day with the way he acted. He would often put on this front of being this joyful, loud, carefree people person and then would later be quiet and reserved and closed off. Mark--well, Mark quite frankly was just hard for anyone to read. He hardly said much, preferring to keep to himself. Youngjae seemed like he was about five seconds from breaking down at any moment. Then there was Bambam and Yugyeom. Despite the fact that they were the same age, they didn’t seem to like each other one bit. Noone was quite sure if something had actually happened between them. They never outright said anything in front of the other members, but it was so genuinely clear in the way that they spoke to each other--or ultimately tried NOT to speak to each other.</p>
<p>	“Jinyoungie, I don’t know what to do,” Jaebeom admitted late one night while the two were sipping on their cups of tea in the living room. </p>
<p>	They were the only ones left awake, the others having retired to bed after taking quick showers about an hour previously. Jinyoung was getting ready for bed when he noticed Jaebeom’s down state--his scent seeming very off and not the usual rich comfort that Jinyoung found it to be. He very quickly boiled hot water for tea, and ushered Jaebeom in to sit down. </p>
<p>	“Everything is off balance, and I haven’t the slightest clue how to fix it,” Jaebeom continued. “I almost wish that we were all a pack so I could better understand how they were all feeling through the bond. It’s just so hard to read them. I can tell that they are off, but I can’t tell why.”<br/>
“I don’t think instantly forming a pack is going to solve our problems,” Jinyoung pointed out. “I think maybe you need to step in and lead the team, you’ve been keeping off to the side instead of guiding us.”<br/>
“But that’s the thing, Nyoungie,” Jaebeom said with a sigh. “I don’t know where I stand in this team. It’s not like I’m pack alpha or even know if I’m team leader.”<br/>
“As I’ve said a million times before,” Jinyoung replied, grabbing on to Jaebeom’s hand and giving it a tight squeeze. “I really don’t think that Mark is going to challenge your position. I don’t think he wants to.”<br/>
“You can’t know that for sure,” Jaebeom refuted, shaking his head in disbelief of Jinyoung’s words. “Besides, you heard Jackson. He said that Mark is his alpha! What if Mark thinks that I’m trying to come in between that? I just can’t read either of them to know what their dynamic is.”<br/>
“You know,” a voice came from the hall, startling the two who were sitting on the couch. “If you want to talk about me--or even Jackson for that matter, I would prefer if you did it to my face and not behind my back.”<br/>
“Mark hyung!” Jinyoung exclaimed, standing up from the couch and trying to look as placating as possible. “I promise we weren’t trying to speak behind your back, we were just having a light discussion about the team in general. Please come sit down and join us.”<br/>
“I’m actually really tired,” Mark said with a shake of his head. “I was just passing through on my way to the bathroom.” </p>
<p>	Mark looked like he was about to turn and leave, but he stopped himself. </p>
<p>	“If you want to understand Jackson better you just need to talk to him,” Mark advised, and then continued when he saw Jaebeom open his mouth to reply. “And I don’t mean that hyper-active overly excited prattle he does to lighten situations. I mean sit down and have an honest to God conversation with him. I promise he will be an open book, you just have to put in a little effort first.”</p>
<p>	With that said, Mark bid them good night and headed on his way to the bathroom. He certainly left Jinyoung and Jaebeom with a lot of things to think about. Unfortunately their next few days were so full of training schedules that the intended conversation that they wanted to have had to be put on the back burner. </p>
<p>	Things all came to a head three nights later. They were all sitting down in the kitchen having an after practice meal, that was quite frankly much too late to be called dinner but they hadn’t actually eaten dinner so it was as good a name for the meal as any. </p>
<p>	“Can you pass the pepper?” Bambam asked the table at large, since three members were equally in distance of the pepper grinder, and any one of them could easily pass it.<br/>
“What? You aren’t going to do aegyo to get what you want?” Yugyeom asked with a sneer. </p>
<p>The entire table snapped their heads to look over at Yugyeom in shock. </p>
<p>“Yugyeom-ah!” Jaebeom scolded. “That wasn’t very nice.”<br/>
“Sorry, I’m sick and tired of watching him charm all of the noonas with his dumb aegyo,” Yugyeom spat out. “It’s so annoying and I shouldn’t have to watch it!”<br/>
“Oh yeah? Like you don’t show off everyday!” Bambam shouted, standing up from the table and throwing down his chopsticks. “We get it, you are an incredible dancer. You don’t need to act like you are the coolest guy in the room to everyone.”<br/>
“It’s better to act cool than to sit in someone’s lap and act like a virtual baby!” Yugyeom shouted standing up as well, so now the two were face to face. “‘Oh look at cutie Bambam. He was clearly born to be the maknae. He’s so loveable!’ I’m so sick of hearing that day in and day out! Just because you literally look like a four year old because you are so tiny doesn’t mean that you are actually a better maknae! I hate your dumb small face!” </p>
<p>	Bambam reached out and shoved Yugyeom as hard as he could, sending the boy staggering back. As soon as Yugyeom regained his footing, he started making his way forward ready to retaliate; raising his hand to slap Bambam. He never got the chance though, for Mark and Jackson had both already sprung into action. Mark grabbed hold of Yugyeom, gripping the boy tightly with both of his arms secured behind his back. Bambam was being held back in a very similar manner by Jackson. </p>
<p>	“Knock it off guys!” Jackson bellowed, causing several of the members to startle at how loud his voice got. </p>
<p>	Yugyeom and Bambam were both breathing heavily, and the reality seemed to dawn on them both at the same time. They looked over to the table with dread to find that Jaebeom looked like he was about to pop a vein he looked so angry, Youngjae looked like a deer in headlights and Jinyoung just looked plain old tired. </p>
<p>	“Alright,” Jaebeom said standing up from his seat, and looking like he was choosing his words very carefully. “Here is what is going to happen. Yugyeom you are going to go to Mark and Jackson’s room. Bambam you are going to go to your room. I don’t want either of you stepping foot outside of those rooms until we come to get you. Is that clear?”<br/>
“Yes, hyung,” Bambam and Yugyeom both muttered in reply, avoiding all eye contact and instead focusing on the planks of the wooden floor. </p>
<p>	Mark let Yugyeom go first, gesturing for the boy to do as told. Yugyeom quickly scurried off to Mark and Jackson’s room, not needing to be told twice. Once they heard the door close, Jackson let go of Bambam and gestured for the boy to head to his own room. </p>
<p>	“Hyung, I’m sorry,” Bambam said, looking at Jackson pleadingly.<br/>
“We will discuss this later, Bam,” Jackson replied. “For now, you need to go to your room while we chat.” </p>
<p>	Bambam nodded and finally did what he was told, muttering another sorry before scurrying off. </p>
<p>	“Youngjae-ah,” Jinyoung said, turing towards the only other unpresented member. “Hyungs need to talk. Do you think you can entertain yourself for a bit in your room?”<br/>
“Yeah, no problem,” Youngjae replied, getting up and heading off just as quickly as Yugyeom had.<br/>
“Why don’t we go to the couch and all have a seat,” Mark suggested. “We might as well be comfortable for this overdue conversation.” </p>
<p>	The others nodded, and they all headed the few feet that it took to get to the living room. The apartment wasn’t very big by any means, so they knew they were going to have to be fairly quiet in their discussion or the maknae line would end up hearing it anyway. </p>
<p>	“Okay, I’m going to say something that I probably should have said awhile ago,” Mark began, much to the surprise of both Jaebeom and Jinyoung. “You need to step up to the plate here, Jaebeom.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom looked up at Mark in confusion. </p>
<p>	“You have it in your head that I want to be leader or something, don’t you?” Mark asked.<br/>
“It only makes sense,” Jaebeom replied. “You are older than me and you are also an alpha, and Jackson already said that you are his alpha.”<br/>
“I was kidding!” Jackson defended. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m very clingy. Mark just likes to humor me and play along. We, as of now, have zero established relationship.”<br/>
“And I have zero intention of being the leader of this group,” Mark added on. “It wouldn’t make sense for me to. You are Korean, I’m not. You have a grasp of Korean customs and culture in a way that I’m still very much learning. I would be afraid my actions as leader would accidentally offend someone. Also, I’m still learning Korean. It can sometimes take me awhile to get my point across, and as leader you need to be good at communicating.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom nodded in understanding, turning towards Jinyoung and Jackson. </p>
<p>	“And neither of you desire to be leader either? Just because you aren’t an alpha doesn’t mean you can’t make a damn good leader,” Jaebeom pointed out.<br/>
“You know you will always be my leader, Jaebeom,” Jinyoung replied, with a shake of his head. “I trust in you.”<br/>
“And I’m going to quote the same reasoning as Mark,” Jackson added on. </p>
<p>	Jaebeom caught the slight smirk that appeared on Jinyoung’s face. </p>
<p>	“You are dying to say ‘I told you so,’ aren’t you?” Jaebeom asked.<br/>
“Just a little,” Jinyoung replied with a shrug.<br/>
“Okay, that’s one problem down,” Mark said, before turning towards Jackson. “Now we need to address you.”<br/>
“What did I do?” Jackson asked, raising his hands in surrender.<br/>
“Oh come on Jacks,” Mark replied, rolling his eyes. “You know that you haven’t opened yourself up to them yet. They probably think you are nuts at this point, you’ve been so up and down and back and forth. Just tell them how you actually feel.” </p>
<p>	Jackson sighed and looked like he was about to close himself off again, before he finally nodded.</p>
<p>	“I know you slightly know my background story,” Jackson said softly, twisting and playing with his hands in discomfort. “But I don’t know if you fully understand what that means.” </p>
<p>	Jackson went quiet for a moment, trying to choose the right words in his head. </p>
<p>	“I left Hong Kong behind,” Jackson explained. “And with that not only did I leave my parents and my brother behind, but I left behind all of my chances of making something out of myself through fencing. I gave up a fairly secure future. I had a scholarship offer for University, a damn good University at that. I was almost guaranteed to be fencing in the Olympics. Most people would say that I’m insane for it.”<br/>
“You decided to follow your dream,” Jaebeom added with a nod. “I admire you for that.”<br/>
“Yes, but you also have to realize that it means that I feel like I have to work a million times harder to make it,” Jackson explained. “I have to prove that giving everything up was worth it. That I didn’t just give up my entire future for nothing.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom and Jinyoung sat there in stunned silence for several moments. That was a hell of a lot of pressure to put on oneself. </p>
<p>	“I get quiet sometimes because I just get too in my head,” Jackson explained. “And then sometimes I get overly enthusiastic as a way to try to get out of my head and force my thoughts and my mood in a different direction. I promise I naturally am a people person, and I do really have a lot of energy. But, I also am aware that I come off too strongly sometimes. I know I turn people off with my overabundance of energy too often. I’m sorry for that.”<br/>
“Please don’t ever apologize for your personality,” Jinyoung immediately replied. “It’s part of who you are and I would hate to have you feel ashamed for it. Your feelings and emotions are just as valid as anyone else’s.”<br/>
“Is there anything we can do to help you when you get too deep into your thoughts?” Jaebeom asked.<br/>
“Honestly, just talking to me works,” Jackson replied. “Mark hyung may not seem like it, but he is very good with his words. I always say that he doesn’t say much, but when he does speak he says what really matters.” </p>
<p>	Mark blushed at those words and lightly shoved Jackson with a chuckle. </p>
<p>	“Now I think we need to discuss the two youngest…” Jinyoung said with a sigh, giving everyone a sobering reminder that there was still a lot of unfinished business for them to deal with that evening. “We can’t just be the fun pushover hyungs anymore.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So they still have lots of things to work out, but they are making at least some progress. I hope people weren't turned off in the first chapter by some of the characters being a little too much their stereotype. I wanted that to be a facade that slowly started to get broken down in the second chapter. I know I personally hate when people think Mark is nothing but quiet or Jackson is always loud and energetic 24/7. </p>
<p>Please let me know what you think and I hope to get the next chapter up soon. </p>
<p>Also: </p>
<p>7 or nothing.<br/>7 or never.<br/>I trust GOT7 :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. One Team</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! Welcome back to my story. One massive group hug to all of my fellow ahgases. These past few weeks have been truly a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I've cried. I've laughed. I've felt anxiety. I've felt joy. But most of all, I have felt so proud of our boys. They are so brave to pursue their happiness and to do what they know will ultimately be for the best. I will support all seven of those boys both individually and as GOT7. I'm ultimately excited to see what the future has in store from them. Truly, truly, truly they are so incredibly talented and full of love for their fans. GOT7 &lt;3 IGOT7 and IGOT7 &lt;3 GOT7. </p>
<p>#GOT7FOREVER</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Three</p>
<p>	Yugyeom knew that he was risking getting himself in even more trouble by doing this, but he needed to talk to Bambam. He needed to apologize; he needed to set things right. Yugyeom quietly crept down the hallway to the room he shared with Bambam and opened the door slowly, so as to not make a peep. Bambam, who had been laying on his bed staring at the ceiling, looked up when he heard the door opening. He stared in confusion while he watched Yugyeom slip into the room. </p>
<p>	“What are you doing here?” Bambam whisper--yelled. “You are going to get us in even more trouble!” <br/>	“I had to talk to you!” Yugyeom replied, sitting down on his own bed. “I had to apologize to you. I’m so so so sorry! I never should have said what I said. Now you probably hate me!”<br/>	“Why did you say it?” Bambam asked.<br/>	“You are just…” Yugyeom began, taking a deep breath to center himself. “You’re adorable, and cute, and tiny and the picture perfect maknae. I’m...I’m tall and lanky and immensely shy. I don’t reach out for touch, or for comfort in the same way you do. This team, they don’t need me as their maknae.” </p>
<p>	Bambam stared in shock before getting up and launching himself at Yugyeom’s bed, grabbing hold of the other’s arm. </p>
<p>	“Are you kidding me?” Bambam asked. “You are so cool. You are such an incredible dancer. Everyone raves about you. I’ve spent the last several months being insanely jealous of you! No one takes me seriously. I’m just the cute tiny kid, but the way they look at you is so different. They think you are incredible!” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom blushed at the compliments. </p>
<p>	“Wait...so I’m jealous that you are the ideal picture of the cute perfect maknae…” Yugyeom summarized. “And you’re jealous of me because I’m the opposite of you?” </p>
<p>	Bambam nodded before the two broke out into giggles. Bambam then launched himself on top of Yugyeom, pulling him into a tight hug. </p>
<p>	“We are so stupid, aren’t we,” Bambam asked through his laughter.<br/>	“Yeah, yeah we are,” Yugyeom replied, squeezing Bambam tightly as well. </p>
<p>	They lay there for a moment just basking in the glow of the turn of events. </p>
<p>	“I distinctly remember telling you to go to separate rooms,” Jaebeom’s voice came from the doorway. “Although, I am very relieved to see that you two appear to have worked things out.” <br/>	“Yeah, it was just a big misunderstanding, hyung,” Yugyeom replied, looking up at his hyung with a pleading look. “So that means we can just move on and pretend like this never happened...right?” <br/>	“Not on your life, kid,” Jaebeom replied, gesturing towards the living room. “Let’s go to the living room, the both of you.” </p>
<p>	Bambam and Yugyeom cringed, but did what they were told, walking into the living room to see that the rest of the hyungs--including Youngjae--were all sat on different couches and seats. The only thing left open for the two was for them to sit on cushions on the floor. </p>
<p>	“I walked in to find them hugging,” Jaebeom informed as he trailed behind the youngest into the living room. <br/>	“Okay, you two are going to have to explain yourselves,” Jinyoung said, looking at them in sheer confusion. “You were just at each other’s throats not 20 minutes ago.” </p>
<p>	Bambam and Yugyeom exchanged a look, deciding who would ultimately explain. </p>
<p>	“Well...it’s turns out we were both jealous of each other,” Yugyeom began, looking down at his clasped hands in his nervousness. “I was jealous that he is like the perfect picture of a maknae. He was jealous of my dancing skills.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom sighed and ran his hands through his hair, desperately trying to figure out how to best handle the situation. It was so much easier when it was just Jinyoung and himself. </p>
<p>	“Gyeom-ah,” Jackson said, getting up off the couch and crouching down in front of Yugyeom. “Do you think you are not good enough as the maknae of this group?”<br/>	“I’m the last thing you would think of as a maknae,” Yugyeom replied softly. “I’m tall, and broad, and terrible at acting cute, and I am shy about touch.”<br/>	“There is nothing wrong with you the way you are,” Jackson vehemently protested, holding on to the boy’s arms to get his eye contact. “You are incredibly talented, and endearing, and funny, and smart. That’s what we want in our youngest, not some made up image that the media deems as the ideal maknae. The media isn’t the truth. Don’t ever let it make you question if you are good enough, right guys?” <br/>	“He’s right,” Jinyoung said, getting up off the couch and joining Jackson on the floor. “You may be a pain in the butt sometimes, but you are our pain in the butt. No one can replace you. And you, Bam. Why do you think that you have to be like Yugyeom?” <br/>	“He is so incredible at dancing,” Bambam replied. “I feel like people actually take him seriously, while I’m just there to look adorable.” <br/>	“Don’t you ever for a second think you didn’t get into this group based on talent,” Mark spoke up from the couch. “I was there. I witnessed what got you into this group. You stood out. You are incredibly talented, Bam-ah. Just because you come off as adorable, doesn’t mean you can’t be both.” </p>
<p>	Bambam nodded with tears forming in his eyes over his hyung’s compliment. He knew that if Mark said something, it was something that he really meant. </p>
<p>	“So what I’m getting from this is that we need to learn how to better communicate with each other,” Jinyoung summarized, squeezing Yugyeom and Bambam’s hands tightly, before getting up and walking back to sit down next to Jaebeom. “We had no idea that either of you were feeling this way, and that fight in the kitchen could have been avoided if we did.” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom and Bambam solemnly nodded.</p>
<p>	“I know it’s a new situation--for all of us,” Jackson said, joining Mark on the couch once more. “But we do need to learn to trust one another. We are never going to work as a team if we don’t have that.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom sat there amazed at the words of his new team members. He had been so worried about finding the right words to say in this situation, when it turns out that he didn’t need to. His team members stepped up to the plate when he was lost as to what to do. </p>
<p>	“I think we need to form a pack,” Mark stated, causing the rest of the occupants of the room to all look at him in shock and confusion. “Not taking the pack bite and all. That would be stupid when we don’t know each other well enough yet. I mean we need to start acting like a pack. Make it a sort of trial run. I think it would clear up roles and everything nicely. And before you open your mouth, Jaebeom. No. I’m not going to be the pack alpha.” <br/>	“So what would that mean for us?” Youngjae asked, finally speaking up for the first time since the conversation had begun. <br/>	“Well I think first and foremost that we need to have an open door policy,” Jinyoung spoke up, already fully understanding the concept that Mark was proposing--and quite frankly, whole-heartedly agreeing with it. “If any of you need to talk, day or night, we are all stating that we are there and that we are willing to listen.” <br/>	“I think we should schedule some pack bonding time,” Jaebeom added on. “Time for us to sit down and do something fun together, whether that be watch a movie, listen to new music, or even play board games together. We need to have interactions with each other that aren’t strictly work. This is a stressful job, and an even more stressful industry. We need time to relax and grow closer together without all of the pressure.” <br/>	“I think we should implement a cleaning schedule as well,” Jackson added in. “Rather than just cleaning your individual stuff and leaving the common areas alone, I think we need to organize a system that means we can fully take care of our dorm. Our dorm, and most especially the common areas, should be somewhere that we can relax and feel comfortable and at home.” <br/>	“That’s a great suggestion,” Jaebeom agreed. “Is there anything you guys would like to add on?” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom looked in question at all three of the maknae line. </p>
<p>	“Not that I can think of,” Yugyeom replied with a shake of his head.<br/>	“Me neither,” Bambam replied. <br/>	“Can...can we implement a support system like a pack would have?” Youngjae hesitantly asked. <br/>	“What do you mean by that?” Jackson asked, turning and giving his full attention.<br/>	“Nevermind,” Youngjae quickly replied, shaking his head rapidly. <br/>	“Youngjae-ah,” Jaebeom said, getting up and kneeling in front of the younger boy. “You need to speak what is on your mind in order for this to work for us all.” <br/>	“I...I am someone that likes physical touch,” Youngjae admitted with a bright blush appearing on his cheeks. “If that makes any of you uncomfortable I completely understand and I can always…” </p>
<p>	Youngjae didn’t get to complete his sentence, for Jackson had proceeded to squeal, stand up, and leap onto the other boy on the couch, pulling him tightly into his arms. </p>
<p>	“This is the best idea EVER!” Jackson proclaimed, much to the amusement of the rest of the room. <br/>“So I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say this one won’t be a problem,” Jinyoung added with a laugh. <br/>	“I take it back, hyung! I take it back!’ Youngjae pleaded from where he was being squashed under Jackson’s affection--his laughter proving his pleading invalid. </p>
<p>	Jaebeom chuckled and moved to sit down once more. </p>
<p>	“Next order of business,” Jaebeom said when the squeals of Jackson and Youngjae had finally died down. “We need to discuss rules and consequences.” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom and Bambam barely held back their groans of displeasure. </p>
<p>	“Oh come on, hyung!” Yugyeom whined, quickly stopping when he saw Jaebeom’s intense stare boring into him. <br/>	“I know it’s not a fun conversation,” Jaebeom continued. “But it’s one that we need to have as a team. We all need to know the expectations, and all of us are going to live by them. Agreed?” </p>
<p>	The rest of the members nodded their heads in agreement. </p>
<p>	“Fighting is definitely on the list of unacceptable behaviors,” Jaebeom said. “I will let the both of you off with a warning this time, but if it happens again there will be consequences. Understood?” <br/>	“Yes, hyung,” Bambam and Yugyeom replied in-sync. <br/>	“I think a no drinking underage, no sneaking out, and just letting each other know where we are going should be added,” Jinyoung piped in, earning a chuckle from Bambam. “What?” <br/>	“Us three youngest aren’t the ones who have the reputation in the trainee dorm for sneaking out,” Bambam replied, looking directly at Mark and Jackson. </p>
<p>	Jinyoung and Jaebeom both turned to look at the two in accusation. </p>
<p>	“I plead the fifth!” Mark immediately said, raising his arms in surrender--only earning himself several looks of confusion. “Must be an American thing…” <br/>	“We promise we will be good!” Jackson said, holding his hand up. “Scout’s honor!” <br/>	“You were a boy scout?” Youngjae asked. <br/>	“Erm...no?” Jackson replied with a shrug. <br/>	“So your oath doesn’t mean anything,” Yugyeom pointed out. <br/>	“Shouldn’t we be focusing on the point here?” Jackson asked, wrapping his arm around Mark and pulling him close. “Mark used to sneak out and go to Cheonho!” </p>
<p>	Mark used his free arm to slap Jackson hard on his arm. </p>
<p>	“Owie!” Jackson replied in a baby voice. “Mark hyung hit me!” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom and Jinyoung looked at each other in pure awe. How had the conversation swerved so quickly? </p>
<p>	“ANYWAYS,” Jaebeom spoke up loudly. “For the three youngest, we will treat you like any pack treats their pups. That means you should know the consequences range from scolding, grounding, and even to a spanking if deemed necessary.” </p>
<p>	The three youngest nodded. They weren’t surprised. This was nothing unusual for a pack, and honestly the expected consequences of their home packs. </p>
<p>	“But what about you hyungs?” Yugyeom asked. “Do you have the same rules and consequences.” <br/>	“It wouldn’t be fair to not have to live up to the same standards,” Jaebeom replied. “We can obviously drink, but I do think we need to think of our image. The image of us drinking, being in a club, or otherwise doing questionable behaviors can be very detrimental to the group. So I want to urge you all to use caution. Got it?” <br/>	“Got it!” they all replied. <br/>	“I feel like we need to do a chant of some sort!” Jackson exclaimed. “Like putting our hands in and...and how about GOT7, since we are 7 boys and we’ve got it!” </p>
<p>	There was some laughter, and some grumbling at Jackson’s suggestion, but they all followed suit. </p>
<p>	“GOT7!” the boys cheered. </p>
<p>	That evening was one that they knew they would all remember for a long time. It was the first time that they truly felt like they were a team.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please let me know what you think :) Hope you all have a great day or night! </p>
<p>Also, very aware that this was NOT how they came up with their name! Lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Feels Like A Pack</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much to those of you that are reading this story :) It really does mean a lot to me. Hope you enjoy the next chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Four</p>
<p>	Things did get easier for the boys over the next couple of weeks. It was like the thick tension that was in the air before had mostly disappeared. However, that’s not to say that the stress entirely went away. They were just much more willing to talk to each other about it. Or at least that’s what Jaebeom thought, until one day at dance practice another issue came to light. He should have seen it coming. He really should have. He was cursing himself for not having foreseen it. </p>
<p>	It was well into Friday evening and the seven of them were in one of the practice rooms working on the choreography for their debut title track. All of them were exhausted and sweaty, but trying hard to keep their spirits up.</p>
<p>	“Let’s go!! From the top!” the choreographer directed, messing with the sound system to get the title track to play from the start once more. </p>
<p>	Jackson quickly took a swig of water, half-spilling some of it on his shirt in his rush. He didn’t really care, though. It felt good to his very much overheated body. Jackson reached out a hand to pull up Mark who was sitting on the couch next to him. Mark groaned, but didn’t resist. Jaebeom and Jinyoung were already in their positions, and Bambam and Yugyeom were making their way over as well. Jackson turned to check on Youngjae who had also been sat on the couch with himself and Mark. Jackson’s stomach dropped when he caught sight of the younger boy. To say that he looked pale was the understatement of the century. He looked almost as white as a ghost.</p>
<p>	“Youngjae-ah!” Jackson exclaimed, causing everyone in the room to look over at him and for Youngjae to look up. </p>
<p>	Youngjae wasn’t fully able to make eye-contact with Jackson. It was like he was in a daze and he just couldn’t focus on anything. The world was spinning around him and it was like sound was coming through tinny and distorted into his brain. He knew that the others were speaking rapidly to him, but he couldn’t process who it was or what they were saying. Then he felt like a top that stopped spinning, and the world proceeded to turn black. </p>
<p>	Mark had luckily had enough time to catch the boy before he crashed down on the floor. Youngjae fell heavily into the boys’ arms, almost taking Mark down with him. </p>
<p>	“Help me get him laid down on the couch!” Mark exclaimed, to which Jaebeom immediately rushed over to help move Youngjae. <br/>	“Yugyeom-ah, can you go and wet a towel!” Jinyoung commanded, to which the boy nodded and immediately ran off. <br/>	“Someone please go get the medic,” Jaebeom asked. <br/>	“Choreographer hyung already did,” Jinyoung replied, brushing Youngjae’s bangs off of his sweaty forehead. “Bambam, can you grab something to prop Youngjae’s feet up with?” </p>
<p>	Bambam nodded and started looking around the room. He ended up finding some of their discarded sweatshirts and piling them together to lift Youngjae’s feet. Youngjae stirred while his legs were being lifted.</p>
<p>	“W--what’s…” Youngjae stuttered out. <br/>	“Shh it’s okay,” Jaebeom said from where he was now running his hands through the boy’s hair. “You just fainted.” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom returned with the cold wet towel and handed it to his hyung, who immediately put it on Youngjae’s forehead in order to help cool him down. </p>
<p>	“Hey Youngjae-ah,” Mark said, walking over with a cold bottle of water. “Do you think you can drink some of this for us?” </p>
<p>	It took a moment, but Youngjae nodded his head. Jinyoung helped prop Youngjae’s head up a little so that he could drink the cold water without fear of choking. Youngjae took small sips, reveling in the way the cool liquid felt. </p>
<p>	“I’m here! I’m here! What’s going on?” the medic on staff asked, rushing into the room. </p>
<p>	The boys parted so that he could get a closer look at Youngjae. </p>
<p>	“We were getting up to continue with dance practice and he looked really pale,” Jackson explained. “I had just noticed when he proceeded to faint not many moments later.” <br/>	“How much have you had to eat today?” the medic asked, checking on Youngjae’s pulse. <br/>	“A salad,” Youngjae answered. <br/>	“And?” the medic asked.<br/>	“Some water,” Youngjae replied. <br/>	“And that’s all?” the medic asked, to which he received a hesitant nod. “Well there's your problem right there. Don’t tell me the company has you on some dumb one meal a day diet.” </p>
<p>	Youngjae shook his head. It was true they had him on a diet, but he was actually eating less than they recommended. He wasn’t seeing results before and he wanted to be good enough for this group. </p>
<p>	“Well my advice is that you need to rest for a couple days,” the medic said. “I’m going to schedule you to sit down with myself so that we can go over a healthy way to diet. I will ask your members here to ensure that you are eating at least three meals a day and drinking plenty of water. With the amount of dance, exercise and even vocal training that you all do, you need to be very cautious that you are giving your bodies all of the nutrients that you need.” <br/>	“Thank you so much,” Jaebeom said, shaking the medic’s hand before he headed out of the room once more. </p>
<p>	The choreographer came in a few minutes later and let them know that they were dismissed for the evening. Then, not two minutes later, their manager came in to let them know that they were being instructed to take the next two days off to rest and recover. Youngjae opened his mouth to complain, but Jaebeom quickly shut him down with a look. </p>
<p>	The boys all gathered their belongings--except for Youngjae who was scolded by Mark when he tried to get up. </p>
<p>	“Let hyungs take care of you,” Jinyoung piped in, placing Youngjae’s water bottle in his bag for him. </p>
<p>	Youngjae shyly nodded and watched while the rest of the members got everything together. He was feeling truly guilty that he was causing them to get behind because he couldn’t take care of himself right. </p>
<p>	“I can literally feel your negative thoughts,” Jackson said, plopping down on the couch next to where Youngjae was now sitting. “And all the negative things you are thinking are just plain wrong. We will get to that later, though. Are you ready to go?” </p>
<p>	Youngjae nodded, accepting Jackson’s offered hand and letting the boy pull him up from the couch. Jackson kept his arm around the other boy all the way to the car, through the entire car ride, and up the elevator to their dorm. </p>
<p>	“Okay guys,” Jaebeom said when they walked through the door. “Showers and pajamas first. I’m ordering some food and it should be here by the time all of us have changed.” <br/>	“Youngjae you should shower first,” Mark suggested. <br/>	“Is there anyone you trust to be in the bathroom with you?” Jinyoung asked. “I don’t feel comfortable with you alone in the shower. The last thing we need is for you to fall and knock your head on the tiles.” </p>
<p>	Youngjae blushed red as he thought about the question. </p>
<p>	“J--Jaebeom hyung,” Youngjae answered shyly--they shared a bed, it just seemed to make the most sense. <br/>	“Give me 2 minutes to order our food and I will be there,” Jaebeom replied, squeezing the boy’s shoulder before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the Yogiyo app. </p>
<p>-- </p>
<p>	All of the boys were showered, dressed in pajamas, and squeezed around their kitchen table. Jaebeom had ordered kimchi stew, kimbap, and mandu that of course came with a plethora of side dishes. Jaebeom wanted Youngjae to feel the comfort of things he would have eaten at home--of course they would have been made by his own mother, but these would have to do. He really wished that Youngjae was presented so that the members could comfort Youngjae with their scent. Only a pup’s immediate family could do that until they were presented, since their scent gland wasn’t fully formed yet. </p>
<p>	Youngjae looked hesitantly at the plate that they had stacked full of food in front of him. This was absolutely about to throw his personal diet out the window with one meal. </p>
<p>	“Youngjae-yah,” Jinyoung said a few moments later. “I know what you are thinking, but your body needs nutrients. You have deprived yourself of too much. We really really don’t want you to pass out again.” <br/>	“I promise we can help you if you really think that you need to be on a diet,” Jackson added, squeezing Youngjae’s hand. “But for now, you just need to get some food in you, okay?” </p>
<p>	Youngjae hesitantly nodded, before starting to pick up some of the mandu with his chopsticks and eating them. He wasn’t able to eat all of the food that they had dished out for him, but the members were happy enough with the amount that he had eaten that they just let it go. </p>
<p>	“Okay, let’s get the mats out,” Jaebeom directed after they had cleaned up all of the dishes from their late dinner. “We are all going to crash in the living room tonight.” </p>
<p>	Yugyeom and Bambam cheered and headed immediately to the hall closet to start grabbing the mats, pillows, and blankets. It only took a few minutes for the floor to be full of all seven boys cuddled up under different blankets. They had placed Youngjae in the middle, with Jackson on one side and Jinyoung on the other. Omegas and betas were stereotypically able to provide the most comfort--something about them being more openly attuned to their emotions. Jaebeom was next to Jinyoung, while Mark was on the other side of Jackson. Bambam was on the end next to Mark, while Yugyeom was on the other end next to Jaebeom. </p>
<p>	“So I know that this is probably the last thing that you want to talk about, but for your sake and for the sake of the entire team, we need to discuss it.” Jackson began. “What’s going on?” </p>
<p>	Youngjae remained quiet for a few moments, but it was clear that he was just carefully picking his words rather than that he was trying to avoid the conversation all together. </p>
<p>	“I don’t want to be the reason that we don’t debut,” Youngjae finally answered, so softly that it was hard for the boys to hear what he had said. <br/>	“Where on earth did you get that idea?” Jinyoung asked, looking aghast at Youngjae’s words. <br/>	“PD-nim told me that my dancing is subpar and that my vocals are generally weak and that I’m not working hard enough,” Youngjae muttered softly, playing with the blanket that was draped over him. </p>
<p>	To say that there was a cacophony of protests from the other boys is an absolute understatement. They were all talking over one another in their pure anger and disbelief. </p>
<p>	“Guys!” Jaebeom finally yells out, causing Youngjae to jump--which then led to Jackson pulling the other boy into his arms to ‘protect’ him. “One at a time or he isn’t going to understand what we are saying. I will start. Youngjae-ah, your vocals literally blew us away the first time that we heard them.” <br/>	“Yeah, PD-nim tends to have a bit of a distorted idea as to what the proper way to sing is sometimes,” Jinyoung added.<br/>	“He has his own particular style,” Jackson added in. “But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t amazing. He would be an idiot to pull you from this team. We need you.” <br/>	“Please don’t focus on that,” Mark begged. “You are incredible and you need to have confidence in your skills, even if PD-nim is trying some weird way to almost break you down and build you back up again.” <br/>	“Is that why you haven’t been eating, hyung?” Bambam asked in concern. </p>
<p>	Youngjae waited a few moments, before hesitantly nodding. </p>
<p>	“Yeah, I thought that it was one of the easiest things that I could control,” Youngjae admitted. <br/>	“Do you understand that the way that you were going about it was wrong and that it’s only going to put your health at risk?” Jaebeom asked, receiving a nod in reply. “I hope you know that it’s not that we don’t trust you, or think little of you, but we are going to be keeping an eye on your eating habits for a little while.” </p>
<p>	Youngjae nodded in understanding. His entire body felt this complete rush of relief and joy at the fact that clearly the other members cared enough about him that they were willing to spend time keeping an eye on him. Jackson squeezed him tightly, further proving Youngjae’s thoughts. </p>
<p>	“You know I really think we should do this more often,” Yugyeom said after a few moments of silence. “Not the passing out...I mean the sleeping together in the living room. It really feels like a pack.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom rolled over so that he was facing Yugyeom, and pulled the boy tightly into his arms. </p>
<p>	“We can do this as much as you want,” Jaebeom replied. “I want everyone to feel comfortable and loved.” <br/>	“Awww!!!” Jackson squealed, making Youngjae laugh at him.</p>
<p>	Jinyoung allowed the two a few more moments, before reaching his arms out for their eldest pup. Jackson allowed Jinyoung to take Youngjae into his arms, before turning around. </p>
<p>	“Does Markie-pooh need some love too?!” Jackson asked, jumping on top of Mark and giving him no choice but to accept his love. <br/>	“Jackson!” Mark squealed trying to escape his embrace--when that didn’t seem to work Mark tried for another tactic. “Bambam is lonely! Jackson, you need to spread your love to him too!” </p>
<p>	Jackson paused in his playful attack on Mark. What Mark wasn’t expecting was for Jackson to crawl over Mark, lay in the middle of Mark and Bambam and to pull them both into his arms. Both Mark and Bambam ended up squealing and shouting out in protest--very much in between peals of laughter. </p>
<p>	Yugyeom was right. They really were starting to feel like a pack.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So...if you haven't noticed I'm a sucker for Soft7 :) Hope you are enjoying! </p>
<p>Sneak peak of next chapter: a certain someone can't help but repeat an old habit from the other trainee dorm...and will he drag someone along with him?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Halloween</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Back with next chapter :) Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Five</p>
<p>	It was almost Halloween and if there was one thing that Mark was not fully willing to admit, it was that he was homesick. There was something about the holiday that reminded him of being a little kid, dressing up with his siblings, and having his parents take them around trick-or-treating. Korea didn’t celebrate the holiday exactly the same, but Mark was old enough that he could partake in the popular more adult version of the holiday. Only problem was, the only other members of the group who were legal were Jaebeom and Jackson. Mark knew better than to ask if Jaebeom wanted to go out and party on Halloween. That was going to be a big fat resounding no. It wasn’t that Jaebeom had anything against legally drinking or having a good time. Jaebeom just made it clear that he thought they had to be very careful of their images in the time leading up to debut. Mark would typically agree with this...if he weren’t so homesick and in need of a distraction. That left Jackson.</p>
<p>	“No,” Jackson said, not even looking up from his phone where he had been messaging away on KakaoTalk.<br/>
“But--” Mark began to argue.<br/>
“You know we would have to sneak out as hyung would never approve,” Jackson replied, finally putting his phone down and leveling Mark with a look.<br/>
“Oh yeah, and that stopped you when we used to in the other dorms. We didn’t have approval then either,” Mark said rolling his eyes.<br/>
“We weren’t almost debuting then,” Jackson argued. “Besides, you heard hyung’s warning to us. He will treat us like the maknae line if we do dumb shit.”<br/>
“He’s bluffing,” Mark replied, rolling his eyes.<br/>
“You really want to test that theory?” Jackson asked. </p>
<p>	Mark sighed and sunk down on his bed in frustration. </p>
<p>	“If you want to go out and risk the wrath of one Im Jaebeom be my guest,” Jackson added. “I’m not going to stop you, but I personally enjoying being able to sit.”<br/>
“He was bluffing,” Mark mumbled to himself, before rolling over and picking up his phone to scroll through social media once more. </p>
<p>	Mark didn’t bring it up with Jackson again in the days leading up to Halloween, nor did Jackson ever inquire if Mark was still planning to go out. He still did fully plan on going out, though. Thus that Friday evening, after all of the others went to bed--fairly early since they were all tired-- Mark quietly made his way out the front door. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	Jackson woke up not long after falling asleep feeling weird. He felt an odd combination of achy and itchy and overall uncomfortable. It took him a moment to realize that it was his heat. He had been so busy with prepping for debut that he had lost track of time. Now Jackson was on suppressants. That meant that he didn’t fully get his heat. This was good because he would not be out for several days, unable to work. This didn’t mean that when the time came that he wasn’t completely left feeling like it was any other day. He still had stronger urges to be closer to others--especially alphas, but betas and omegas would do amazingly as well--and would feel empty and weird until it all passed. He would also have heightened emotions and be a bit more sensitive for the time being. Rolling over and looking at the room he found why he had woken up. Mark wasn’t there. There was no alpha presence in the room and his entire body felt the absence. </p>
<p>	Not even thinking twice about it, Jackson got up out of bed and made his way to Jinyoung’s room. He would normally have headed for Jaebeom, but the boy shared with Youngjae and he didn’t want to also disturb the pup. </p>
<p>	Jackson tiptoed his way through Yugyeom and Bambam’s room, where the two were snoring away in their beds. He made his way to where Jinyoung’s room was situated and was surprised to find that 1--Jinyoung’s light was on 2--Jinyoung was wide awake and 3--that Jinyoung was sat whispering with Jaebeom, who was also present and very much wide awake.</p>
<p>	“Hey Jackson, what’s wrong?” Jinyoung asked, immediately sensing that something was off. </p>
<p>	Jackson didn’t wait for an invitation, and instead sat down on the bed and draped himself over Jaebeom, basking in his comforting bergamot scent. </p>
<p>	“Alpha,” Jackson hummed in content, causing Jaebeom to look over at Jinyoung in confusion.<br/>
“Heat?” Jinyoung asked after a few moments of thought, to which Jackson nodded. “Even though he is on suppressants, he is going to feel really clingy when it comes to the time he would normally be in heat.”<br/>
“Mark hyung  isn’t home so I came to you,” Jackson said softly before seeming to realize just how overbearing he was potentially being. He pulled away and looked at the two in question. “I hope that’s okay. I really should have asked before climbing into the bed and draping myself all over you. I’m sorry!” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom shook his head and immediately pulled Jackson back to him and adjusted them so that they could lay down. Jinyoung pulled the covers back and allowed the two to slip under them before curling up on Jackson’s other side. The three lay there in contented silence for a few moments until…</p>
<p>	“What do you mean Mark hyung isn’t home?” Jaebeom asked, finally seeming to have processed what Jackson had said. </p>
<p>	Jackson blushed and buried himself into Jaebeom’s neck. </p>
<p>	“Nothing! Forget I said anything!” Jackson exclaimed.<br/>
“Jackson,” Jinyoung said sternly. “You know that’s not going to work. You might as well tell us where Mark hyung is.”<br/>
“Well to be fair, I don’t actually know for certain,” Jackson muttered, finally pulling himself away from Jaebeom’s neck. “But he had asked me to join him for Halloween parties in Itaewon. I said no, since I knew you would never approve. He thought you were bluffing about the whole...erm...you know spanking thing, and I guess he decided to go in the end.” </p>
<p>	Jinyoung sighed and looked over at Jaebeom who seemed to be slowly taking in the words. </p>
<p>	“I wasn’t bluffing, I’m not bluffing,” Jaebeom finally said, clearly upset that he wasn’t being taken at his word.<br/>
“I know that, hyung,” Jackson immediately appeased. “Please don’t be mad at me!” </p>
<p>	Jinyoung reached over and smacked Jaebeom on the arm. </p>
<p>	“Not around the overly emotional and clingy omega,” Jinyoung scolded.<br/>
“Sorry,” Jaebeom sheepishly replied, pulling Jackson back to him and settling him comfortably so that both himself and Jinyoung were able to rest their heads on one of Jackson’s shoulders. “For now we should just relax, I will deal with him tomorrow.” </p>
<p>	The three were laying there for only a few moments, when in walked Youngjae rubbing at his eyes and looking very much like an oversized child. </p>
<p>	“Youngjae-yah, what’s wrong?” Jinyoung asked, sitting up in bed.<br/>
“I didn’t know where hyung went,” Youngjae explained around a yawn. “I woke up and he wasn’t there and then I went to the bathroom and noticed no one was in the kitchen or living room so I came to see where he went.”<br/>
“Were you lonely without me?” Jaebeom teased. </p>
<p>	Rather than denying it, Youngjae just nodded his head. </p>
<p>	“Awe, come here Youngjae-yah,” Jinyoung said, opening up his arms in invitation, one that Youngjae instantly accepted.<br/>
“Hey! Are you guys having a pack cuddle without us?” a voice belonging to Bambam asked from the doorway. </p>
<p>	The four in the bed looked up to see Bambam and Yugyeom standing there as well. </p>
<p>	“Okay, there is no way in hell that we are all fitting in this bed,” Jinyoung said with a laugh.<br/>
“Let’s get the mats out and go in the living room,” Jaebeom suggested, earning an enthusiastic nod of approval from Jackson who was very much now koala-ed onto the leader.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	Mark quietly walked into the dorm, shutting the door as softly behind him as he possibly could. He kicked off his shoes, and walked with light footsteps down the hallway. He jolted to a stop when he walked into the living room area to find all of his members spread out on the floor. Jaebeom was the closest to him, curled tightly around Jackson, with Jinyoung on his other side. Youngjae was in the middle of Bambam and Yugyeom who were both cuddling up to one side. </p>
<p>	Jaebeom rolled over and sat up, clearly hearing Mark enter even though the boy had tried to be as quiet as possible.</p>
<p>	“Jaebeom…” Mark said softly, cutting himself off because he didn’t actually know what to say.<br/>
“Go get your pajamas on and come join us,” Jaebeom whispered back in reply. “We will discuss your late night adventures tomorrow.” </p>
<p>	Mark sighed and nodded. It was much too late to discuss, and would be much better dealt with in the morning. He turned to go do exactly as Jaebeom asked. When he returned Jaebeom moved back a little bit so that Mark could squeeze in between himself and Jackson. </p>
<p>	“He’s at the time that would be his heat,” Jaebeom whispered to Mark as the other boy settled down.<br/>
“He woke up uncomfortable because I wasn’t there, right?” Mark asked, already feeling guilty about it. “I should have never gone out tonight.”<br/>
“Was it at least fun?” Jaebeom asked.<br/>
“In the end, no. It didn’t make me feel the way I thought it would,” Mark admitted. </p>
<p>	Jaebeom reached out and squeezed Mark’s arm in comfort. </p>
<p>	“We will discuss it more in the morning,” Jaebeom reiterated. “Let’s not wake the others up.” </p>
<p>	Mark nodded, and laid his head down on Jackson’s shoulder to get comfortable. Jaebeom rolled up close behind him, placing a careful hand on the older boy’s waist. </p>
<p>	“Good night, hyung,” Jaebeom muttered.<br/>
“Good night.” </p>
<p>	The next morning dawned much quicker than Mark would have liked it to. They were due for dance practice at 1, giving them most of the morning off. They were expected to do a run--with photo evidence to be sent to their managers--but Mark had a feeling today would be one of the days that they used their pre-prepared pictures they created by bringing multiple outfits on one day. This talk would not be easy, nor would it be fun. If only he hadn’t felt so homesick...if only he didn’t still feel so homesick. </p>
<p>	“Good morning,” Jackson said softly, startling Mark who didn’t realize that anyone else was in fact awake. “I’m sorry, I think I got you into some major trouble. I woke up all weird and you weren’t there and I…”<br/>
“Hey, hey,” Mark said, reaching out and putting a hand over the other boy’s mouth to get him to stop talking. “It’s okay. I should never have put you in that position. I got myself in trouble, not you.”<br/>
“You know he wasn’t bluffing right?” Jackson asked, getting a groan in reply.<br/>
“I hardly think what you are referring to is necessary,” Mark muttered into his hands, where he was currently laying his head.<br/>
“Then we will be having quite the conversation, because I do,” Jaebeom’s voice added in, once more startling Mark.<br/>
“Can we put this to a vote?” Mark pleaded, looking up at Jaebeom with his best puppy dog pout.<br/>
“I’m with Jaebeom hyung,” Jinyoung piped up from his spot on the other side of Jackson.<br/>
“What are we picking sides on?” Youngjae’s asked--making it clear that the entire group was indeed awake now.<br/>
“If Jaebeom hyung should spank Mark hyung for sneaking out last night,” Jackson helpfully supplied.<br/>
“Do you have to put it that way?” Mark asked, his cheeks glowing red and shifted pulling at the collar of his shirt.<br/>
“Can we vote to outlaw spanking as a punishment?” Yugyeom mused.<br/>
“No,” replied both Jinyoung and Jaebeom at the same time.<br/>
“Then I’m with Jaebeom hyung,” Yugyeom replied with a shrug. “If I’m gonna have to deal with it--”<br/>
“And let’s be real, that’s a when and not an if,” Bambam piped in, earning himself a smack on the arm from Yugyeom.<br/>
“Then I want it to be fair game for everyone,” Yugyeom finished up.<br/>
“Can’t argue with that, now can you?” Jaebeom asked, raising an eyebrow at Mark.<br/>
“I’m older than you,” Mark pouted in reply.<br/>
“So one would think you would have made a better decision,” Jaebeom pointed out.<br/>
“Can we at least eat first?” Bambam asked, his stomach grumbling loudly.<br/>
“Come on kids,” Jinyoung said with a chuckle, standing up and leading the way to the kitchen. </p>
<p>	Jackson looked like he was torn for a second, before standing up and running after those who had headed to the kitchen. That left just Mark and Jaebeom in the living room.</p>
<p>“Come on, talk to me,” Jaebeom pleaded. “What made you decide to go out last night?” </p>
<p>Jaebeom could practically see the walls going up around Mark. The older boy was practically curling in on himself.</p>
<p>“Hey, hey,” Jaebeom said, reaching out putting a comforting hand on the other boy’s knee. “I can’t make things better if I don’t know what the problem is.”<br/>
“It’s not something you would understand,” Mark muttered in reply.<br/>
“Try me,” Jaebeom urged. “I may not understand it fully, but I will do my best.”<br/>
“I miss home,” Mark answered with a hollow chuckle. “Sounds dumb, right? But Halloween was a special time back home. I just kept thinking of these different memories that I had with my family and it made things worse. Some part of me thought that if I went out and did something on Halloween that those feelings would go away. Turns out it did nothing of the sort, and actually ended up making me feel even worse.” </p>
<p>Jaebeom nodded, taking in what Mark was saying and thinking of how to best reply. </p>
<p>“Now I obviously don’t know exactly what you are going through,” Jaebeom carefully answered. “I’m obviously nowhere near as far from home as you are, but that’s not to say that I don’t miss my family any less. I understand our situations are different, but if ever you need to talk to someone about it--I’m here. Sometimes all you need is someone who is willing to listen, and I promise to be that for you.”<br/>
“Thanks,” Mark replied, swiping at the tears that had started to fall on his cheeks.<br/>
“Do you think calling and talking to them would help?” Jaebeom asked.<br/>
“I don’t want them to see me suffering,” Mark admitted. “If I call them and tell them how much I’m missing them and that I’m struggling in some way…I--I just don’t want them to think I made the wrong choice by coming here. They were so skeptical to begin with and I don’t want them to see me having a hard time.”<br/>
“While I think it’s unfair of you to hide yourself from them, I get it,” Jaebeom replied. “I understand not wanting to put more burden on them. But Mark, I think you will find that they miss you, too. It might actually help all of you to talk about it. You can admit that you are struggling, but also emphasize that you are doing the right thing. You are following your dreams, and I don’t know them but I’m sure that’s what they want more than anything in this world.” </p>
<p>Mark sniffled, but gave a nod of understanding. </p>
<p>	“Also, have you had this conversation with Jackson or even Bambam?” Jaebeom asked, to which he got a shake of Mark’s head in reply.<br/>
“I didn’t want to burden them,” Mark admitted.<br/>
“I really wish you wouldn’t see yourself as a burden,” Jackson said, walking into the room and carrying a plate of several pieces of toast slathered with nutella. “I laid all of my crap on you guys about fencing and walking away from that. I want you to do the same.”<br/>
“Weren’t you the one who suggested we act like a pack?” Jaebeom reminded. “And first and foremost, packs have each other’s backs.</p>
<p>	Mark chuckled and nodded in reply. </p>
<p>	“Okay, okay, I get it,” Mark said with a smile. “I will learn to use my words better”<br/>
“I can stop having conversations with the walls?!” Jackson exclaimed. </p>
<p>	Mark just shook his head in exasperation, snatching a piece of toast off of Jackson’s plate and biting into it. He chewed and swallowed before turning towards Jaebeom. </p>
<p>	“So that whole spanking thing...we can forget it for now, right?” Mark asked.<br/>
“Good try,” Jaebeom replied with a snort. “I’m gonna go eat some breakfast and then I expect you to report to my room for that discussion.” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom got up and left before Mark could protest. </p>
<p>	“Save me,” Mark pleaded, turning towards Jackson and pouting.<br/>
“I tried,” Jackson said with a shrug. “I warned you, but you insisted that he was bluffing.”<br/>
“You think if I told him I’ve never been spanked before he would go lighter on me?” Mark mused.<br/>
“You really want to add lying to him to the list?” Jackson questioned in disbelief.<br/>
“How do you know I’m lying?” Mark shot back, to which Jackson raised an eyebrow in question. “Fine. I could just run away…”<br/>
“What are you 8?” Jackson asked with a snort. “Are you sure you are the oldest member? I think you are actually the maknae, not Yugyeom.”<br/>
“We can call him the Mark-nae!” Yugyeom exclaimed, walking into the room snacking on some grapes with Bambam trailing after him.<br/>
“That’s Mark-nae hyung to you,” Mark teased, sticking his tongue out at Yugyeom.<br/>
“Case and point,” Jackson laughed.<br/>
“Oh shut it!” Mark shot back.<br/>
“Mark hyung, I expect you in my room in 10 minutes!” Jaebeom called from the kitchen. </p>
<p>	Mark groaned and leaned back on Jackson. Oh, this was going to be a long day...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let me know what you think! </p>
<p>And stream ENCORE!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Christmas Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi guys! Hope all of my readers are doing well :) </p>
<p>Pre-warning: this chapter is an absolute ball of fluff </p>
<p>#Soft7</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Six</p>
<p>	Before they knew it, it was late December. The weather had gotten much colder; it was very uncomfortable to leave the house without padding, gloves and a scarf at the present time. The boys were still working their butts off, even more so because they finally had a set date. They were going to debut as GOT7 on January 16, 2014 and they were all over the moon with excitement. They lived and breathed practice, wanting their debut to be nothing short of perfection. </p>
<p>It was late on a Monday night, two days before Christmas. The boys were all exhausted and had come home drenched in sweat. Rock, paper, scissors had decided the order of their showering, and then the boys had shoved down a quick meal before heading off to their own rooms to crash. Jaebeom thought he was the last one up, looking over the schedule that the manager had dropped off for them. It was the details of their photoshoots, music video shoots, and the tentative plan for their initial promotions. They had been given the next two days off for the Christmas holiday--a rare treat, since Jaebeom knew that once they debuted as idols their holiday season would be jam-packed with Gayo Performances (including SBS Gayo which fell on Christmas itself every year). </p>
<p>	Jaebeom was by himself in his room, since Youngjae had fallen asleep cuddled up with Jinyoung in his bed. The younger boy had a rough day, feeling like his dance skills still weren’t up to par, and Jinyoung was doing his best to reassure the boy that he was doing a great job. Last Jaebeom saw them, they were both curled up around each other and snoring away. </p>
<p>	A soft knock on the door startled Jaebeom from his thoughts, causing him to turn around in his desk chair to look at the doorway. It was a surprise to see Mark stood there tentatively, his pajamas oversized and making him look even younger and more vulnerable. </p>
<p>	“Hey Mark hyung, what’s going on?” Jaebeom asked, putting down the highlighter he had been using. </p>
<p>	Mark paused for a moment, seemingly trying to gather the words to explain himself. He stood there awkwardly before shaking his head and turning to leave muttering ‘nevermind’. Jaebeom shot out of his chair and over to Mark in a flash. </p>
<p>	“Hey, come on,” Jaebeom said softly, grabbing on to his hand and leading the boy over to his bed. “You can tell me what’s on your mind.” <br/>	“I...it’s just…” Mark stuttered out, before attempting to take a deep and calming breath. “Well you had said that if I was getting homesick that I could talk to you anytime. I’m sure you’re exhausted, and you looked to be busy, I didn’t mean to bother you. I just didn’t want to ‘eff up like last time and then not be able to sit for a week.” <br/>	“A bit of an exaggeration there,” Jaebeom chuckled, trying to lighten the mood in the room a little. <br/>	“Your hand is like a friggin’ rock,” Mark replied, shaking his head. “You don’t know your own strength, man.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Jaebeom rolled his eyes, but reached out and squeezed Mark’s arm in comfort. </p>
<p>	“I’m really glad that you came to me,” Jaebeom said sincerely. “It means a lot that you trust me. Is it the holidays that are making it particularly worse?” </p>
<p>	Mark nodded, playing with the edge of the sheet on the bed. </p>
<p>	“My family are doing all the things that I used to do with them,” Mark explained. “And I know it’s not my first time missing Christmas. This isn’t my first Christmas away from home...I don’t know why these holidays this year are so much harder.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Jaebeom could smell the subtle shift in Mark’s lime-like citrus scent. The scent became too sour--too pungent. He reached out to start rubbing up and down the boy’s back in comfort. </p>
<p>	“Hey, it’s okay to miss them,” Jaebeom reminded. “And our emotions don’t always make sense. There could be a million reasons why it’s worse this year compared to last year. It could be that you are starting to see them get older and realize how much you really are missing. Or it could be that the stakes and the pressure have upped this year, now that you know we are debuting.” </p>
<p>	Mark nodded in agreement. It did make sense. Jaebeom hesitated for a moment, before gathering his courage. </p>
<p>	“I know that we are still very new to trying to act like a pack,” Jaebeom began. “But, would you be okay if I scented you? I think it could really help comfort and ground you. Maybe your mind just needs to be given a reminder that you have a place that you belong.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>	Mark thought over Jaebeom’s words for a moment, thinking of the pros and cons. Pros: he would get great comfort and possibly feel even closer and more bonded with Jaebeom. Cons:...well honestly, what was he doing? There weren’t any cons really. The only time it sucked to be scented is if it was by someone unwanted.</p>
<p>	“I would really like that, Jaebeom-ah,” Mark admitted.<br/>	“Okay, let me put the rest of my things away,” Jaebeom said, standing up and moving across the room to tidy up the desk a little. </p>
<p>	Once he did so, he turned off the desk lamp and returned to his bed. He pulled back the covers to allow for Mark to slide under them before joining himself. </p>
<p>	“Please let me know if at any point you want me to stop,” Jaebeom reminded. “I’m not going to do anything that you don’t want me to do, okay?” <br/>	“Got it,” Mark replied. “Thanks again for taking care of me, Beom-ah.” <br/>	“Anything for you, hyung,” Jaebeom replied with a smile. </p>
<p>	Jaebeom shuffled over so that he had Mark in his arms, The boy's scent gland, located where his neck and his shoulder met, was now perfectly placed for Jaebeom to nuzzle against. Jaebeom placed a soft kiss to the spot--Mark instantly melting at the feeling. It wasn’t long before he felt himself fully surrounded by the scent of bergamot. It mixed so well with his own scent of lime. Mark felt himself so relaxed that the next thing he knew sunlight was streaming through the window into the room. Mark took a moment to bask in the warmth that was surrounding him. It took him a moment to realize that he felt not one, but two pairs of arms around him. He could smell the bitter tangy bergamot scent that was enveloping him, but underneath that he could smell the floral and soft scent of orchids--Jackson. Mark squinted into the sunlight that was streaming right on to his face, to find that Jackson was curled up to his front, while Jaebeom was still placed with his chest to Mark’s back. </p>
<p>	“Good morning,” Mark whispered when he saw Jackson’s eyes flutter open. <br/>	“Morning,” Jackson croaked out in reply. <br/>	“When did you join us?” Mark asked, feeling the arms wrapping around him tighten from behind--it seemed like Jaebeom was waking up as well. <br/>	“I woke up around 3 in the morning and felt lonely,” Jackson explained with a shrug. “I wanted to be with my two best alpha hyungies.”</p>
<p>	Mark felt Jaebeom chuckle from behind him.</p>
<p>	“So what’s on the schedule for today?” Mark asked, turning in Jaebeom’s arms so he was now pressed against Jackson’s chest and face to face with Jaebeom. <br/>	“Nothing official,” Jaebeom replied around a yawn. “I figured we would probably run over the choreography a couple times. We could do that in the dorm so that the managers aren’t taken away from their break.” <br/>	“We should make a nice big dinner,” Jackson suggested. “Make the most of the holiday season and all. I know that Mark is used to celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in a way none of the rest of us are, so why don’t we embrace it.” <br/>	“That would be really nice,” Mark admitted. <br/>	“Okay, let’s make it happen then,” Jaebeom replied with a smile. “Now as lovely as this moment is, I really have to go to the bathroom.” </p>
<p>	Jackson and Mark chuckled and un-koalaed themselves from Jaebeom so that the man could escape. </p>
<p>	“Are you doing okay?” Jackson asked, squeezing Mark tightly. “I’m assuming there was a reason that you came to Jaebeom hyung last night and not to me.” <br/>	“Jealous?” Mark teased with a chuckle, turning back around so that he was facing Jackson once more. <br/>	“Always,” Jackson replied with all of the seriousness that he could muster. </p>
<p>	Mark rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that spread over his face. </p>
<p>	“You were sound asleep,” Mark explained. “And I promised Jaebeom that I would talk things out instead of just acting rashly. He helped me out and I saved my ass, so all in all a great decision.” <br/>	“Hyungs,” a whine came from the doorway to the room. </p>
<p>	Jackson and Mark turned to look and see who was interrupting them. It was Bambam that had whined, while Yugyeom was in the doorway behind them. </p>
<p>	“I’m hungry and we ran out of rice,” Bambam whined. <br/>	“We have a cupboard full of cereal,” Mark pointed out. <br/>	“I don’t want cereal for breakfast,” Bambam pouted in reply. <br/>	“Neither do I,” Yugyeom added on with a shake of his head. <br/>	“And what do you want us to do about it?” Jackson asked. <br/>	“Come with us to the grocery store,” Bambam replied. “Jaebeom hyung said we aren’t allowed to go out on our own since we are underage.” <br/>“Hey, that’s the company’s rule, not mine,” Jaebeom said, walking back into the room from the bathroom. “What are they complaining about now?” <br/>“A lack of food in the dorm,” Mark explained.<br/>“Well, we need to go shopping anyway if we are going to do a big celebratory meal tonight,” Jaebeom reasoned, sitting down on the edge of the queen sized bed. <br/>“We are having a celebration?” Yugyeom asked in excitement, looking like an overeager puppy. <br/>“A celebration for what?” Youngjae’s voice was heard from the hallway. </p>
<p>Bambam and Yugyeom walked into the room so that Youngjae and Jinyoung could join the conversation as well. The two youngest climbed onto the bed, Bambam flinging himself onto Mark’s lap and Yugyeom was pulled into Jackson’s. </p>
<p>“We are going to have a celebration for Christmas,” Jaebeom explained. <br/>“Can we decorate?” Youngjae asked in excitement. <br/>“I’m sure Daiso has some things left that we can pick up to decorate the place,” Jinyoung added in, moving to sit down next to Jaebeom and pulling Youngjae to sit with him. <br/>“This is going to be so much fun!” Bambam exclaimed. “You guys are the best hyungs ever!” </p>
<p>--<br/>The boys ran out to the grocery store and to Daiso to get all of the food and decorations that they needed. Upon returning to the dorm, they powered their way through the choreography practice. It wasn’t too tiring, since the dorm was small enough that they could really only mark the dances instead of doing the full out choreography. They most definitely could not participate in flips or tricks. </p>
<p>	After that, they started cooking and decorating the dorm. Jinyoung, Jaebeom, and Mark were on the cooking team while Jackson, Bambam, Yugyeom and Youngjae were on the decorating team. It wasn’t long before the dorm looked like a Christmas Wonderland and smelled heavenly. </p>
<p>	“I really appreciate you doing this guys,” Mark said softly while they were finishing up their cooking. “I know you have a lot of pressure on you as a leader and everyone as group members in general, so my being homesick shouldn’t be added to your already heavy loads.” <br/>	“Hyung, we all want the best for each other,” Jinyoung piped in from where he was spreading icing on a few cookies that they had managed to make in the toaster oven--since ovens in Korea were very uncommon and their mediocre dorm certainly didn’t have one. “Your mental health and wellness is as important as anyone else’s. You know that if it were Bambam or Youngjae, or honestly any of us, you would do the same.” <br/>	“Let us rely on each other like a pack and a music group should,” Jaebeom added in, giving Mark a supportive pat on his back. “We are all away from our homes, and our youngest are away at an exceptionally young age. We need to become each other’s support systems and family.” </p>
<p>	Mark nodded in reply, honestly too choked up to say anything out loud. </p>
<p>	“Is he doubting his worth again?” Jackson asked, walking into the kitchen and noticing the weird vibe. <br/>	“Yep,” Jinyoung replied. “But we are always going to remind him that he is worth it until it finally sinks in.” <br/>	“Hyungs are being sappy again, aren’t they?” Yugyeom asked, walking into the kitchen with Youngjae and Bambam trailing behind him.<br/> 	“What are you guys doing here?” Jaebeom asked with a sigh. “Did you finish decorating?” <br/>	“Yep! And we are starving!” Bambam replied. “Like seriously, I think I could eat an entire cow and still have room for dessert.” <br/>	“You are literally a stick,” Jackson shot back. “You couldn’t even eat half a chicken.” <br/>	“Oh yeah?” Bambam challenged, puffing up his chest in a hysterical attempt to make himself look larger than he actually was. “I dare you to a chicken eating contest!” <br/>	“Guys!” Jaebeom shouted out. “Dinner is ready if you are done with your yapping.”<br/>	“YES! FOOD!” Yugyeom exclaimed, causing Youngjae to cover his ears with his hands. “That’s funny coming from you, hyung! You are literally the loudest member of this group.” <br/>	“Am not!” Youngjae protested. “Jackson hyung is a million times louder than me.” </p>
<p>	Jackson clutched his chest in shock. </p>
<p>	“How dare…” Jackson began to reply. <br/>	“Can we please eat, children?” Jinyoung asked, rolling his eyes at their antics. <br/>	“Yes, eomma!” Jackson, Yugyeom, Youngjae and Bambam all replied at the same time, causing the entire kitchen to almost fall over in laughter. </p>
<p>	It took a few minutes to collect themselves, but they finally were dishing out their dinner onto plates that they were going to eat in the living room while watching Christmas movies together. </p>
<p>	“Hey, if Jinyoungie hyung is eomma, does that make Jaebeom hyung appa?” Yugyeom wondered aloud. </p>
<p>	Before Jaebeom could give any reply, Mark, Jackson, Youngjae, and Bambam all turned towards the leader and in their most whiny obnoxious voices possible called out: “APPA!!!!!” </p>
<p>	Jaebeom sighed and reached over to hold hands with Jinyoung. </p>
<p>	“Honey, I can’t control our children,” Jaebeom said with a mock seriousness that was very much betrayed by the upward curve of his lips. <br/>	“Guess they should be put up for adoption so we can get our quiet life back,” Jinyoung replied without a beat. </p>
<p>	This was without a doubt going to be one of Jaebeom’s favorite Christmas memories...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed, even if it was super soft and fluffy. More drama and angst will be in the next chapter I promise :) It's time for them to finally debut!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Threads</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi guys! Hope you are all doing well. Hope you enjoy the next chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Seven </p>
<p>	He looks 12 years old. What is he even doing in that group? </p>
<p>	He can’t even speak Korean very well. His pronunciation sucks. </p>
<p>	He brings down the image of the entire group. </p>
<p>	I wish they were GOT6. They didn’t need the little kid in the group. </p>
<p>	Debut was supposed to be the most incredible time of Bambam’s life. He was literally living the dream that he has had since he was little. He was finally going to be able to make a name for himself and be able to give back to his mother who had done so much for her family on her own. And yet...Bambam found himself looking at comments like this every night. He didn’t let his members know that he was looking at negative comments. He didn’t want to bring their mood down as well. It wasn’t fair to them. So he suffered in silence. Anytime he could get a minute or two of privacy--mostly late at night when all the other members were sound asleep--he would allow himself to have a nice cry in the hallway while reading the comments on his cell phone. It was too risky to look at it anywhere in the dorm itself. </p>
<p>	This particular evening Bambam was feeling incredibly stressed because things hadn’t gone well at dance practice. He had been scolded by the choreographer not once...not twice...but five whole times. Bambam just couldn’t seem to get out of his head and get the steps right. </p>
<p>	Wiping his tears one last time, Bambam stood up, straightened his pajama bottoms and walked back into the dorm room--and smack bang right into Jackson. </p>
<p>	“Bam-ah, what are you doing out so late?” Jackson whispered, trying not to wake anyone else at the super late hour.<br/>	“H--hyung, just getting some fresh air,” Bambam replied, praying that Jackson would just let this go and allow him to go back to bed. “I couldn’t sleep.” <br/>	“Have you been crying?” Jackson asked in concern, hearing the wetness in Bambam’s voice. <br/>	“Just was watching a sad video, no big deal hyung,” Bambam lied, hoping his tone came off as nonchalant as he intended it to. </p>
<p>	Jackson studied Bambam for a moment before nodding and gesturing for the boy to go off to his room. Bambam started to go on his way, before stopping and facing Jackson once more. </p>
<p>	“Erm--if you could keep this between the two of us that would be great,” Bambam said before finally turning and walking off to his room once again. </p>
<p>	If Jackson was suspicious when Bambam had first walked in, his suspicions had elevated to an even higher level now. Bambam wasn’t usually secretive. It was clear the boy was lying about something...but what that was remained a mystery. Jackson made a mental note that he would keep an eye on the boy. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	By the next morning things seemed to be back to normal. Bambam ate breakfast with his usual gusto. He joked around with Yugyeom. He had the energy back that Jackson associated with their second youngest member. Jackson was starting to think that maybe he had imagined everything. </p>
<p>	“Okay guys, we are going to start the recording for the next couple episodes of Real GOT7 soon,” their manager explained to them. “I want you guys to be brainstorming what things you want to be doing in those episodes. Your suggestions are due this Friday.”<br/>	“Our what?” Bambam asked quietly to Yugyeom who was sitting next to him. <br/>	“Suggestions,” Yugyeom answered and then noticed that Bambam still didn’t seem to understand. “Our ideas.” <br/>	“Oh…” Bambam said, blushing a little at the misunderstanding and nodding. </p>
<p>	Jackson couldn’t help but note that Bambam wasn’t one who usually got frustrated by not understanding something in Korean. Like himself, Bambam was more likely to brush it off and make a joke rather than get flustered like Mark sometimes did. Once again, he shrugged it off. Maybe Bambam was having an off day. </p>
<p>	Things went a lot better in dance practice that day. Bambam seemed to take all of his mistakes from the previous day as motivation and absolutely crushed all of their dances. </p>
<p>	“Great job Bam! That’s what I’m talking about!” their choreographer complimented, causing a beaming smile to appear on Bambam’s face. </p>
<p>	A couple of noonas who worked in the company squealed over how adorable Bambam looked when he beamed like that. They were saying how they just wanted to gather him up and keep him in their pocket. Jackson thought it was quite the compliment, but he noticed that the smile on Bambam’s face immediately dropped and it almost seemed like tears were starting to form in his eyes. He quickly excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Jackson even more confused. </p>
<p>	By mid-afternoon, Jackson decided that he couldn’t keep things to himself anymore. He needed to get some other opinions. They were given an hour break to grab food, work on school work, or just crash. The maknae line all went to one of the break rooms to work on their piles of homework, while the older members were about to disperse to do their own things. </p>
<p>	“Can I talk to you guys?” Jackson asked with enough urgency that the other members all looked at him in concern.<br/>	“What’s wrong?” Jinyoung asked. “Are you feeling okay?” <br/>	“Is it your heat?” Jaebeom asked in concern, immediately putting a hand to the other boy’s forehead to feel if he had a fever. <br/>	“I’m literally on suppressants,” Jackson answered, rolling his eyes and gently pushing Jaebeom’s hand away. “And it’s not about me. It’s about Bambam.” </p>
<p>	This was certainly unexpected, causing all of the others to stare at Jackson in even more confusion. </p>
<p>	“Let’s go to the cafe and sit down,” Mark suggested. “This seems like it might be a bit of a story.” </p>
<p>	Five minutes later found the four oldest members gathered around a cafe table with four iced Americanos. </p>
<p>	“So what’s up with Bambam?” Mark asked, taking a long swig of his drink and almost crying out in joy over the boost of caffeine that he so desperately needed. <br/>	“Well...that’s sort of what I’m trying to figure out,” Jackson admitted. “I got thirsty in the middle of the night last night. When I was on my way back to my room from the kitchen the front door swung open and Bambam ran right into me.” <br/>	“He snuck out last night?!?” Jaebeom exclaimed, standing up and ready to go and have a word with the boy. <br/>	“Calm down, hyung!” Jackson yelled, grabbing Jaebeom’s wrist and yanking him to sit back down. “He was in his pajamas. I think he literally was just sitting out in the hallway. The more concerning thing is that he seemed to have been crying. He brushed it off saying that he was just watching a sad video, but then he said to not tell anyone about it. That seemed weird to me, but I decided to just observe today and see if I was overreacting or not.” <br/>	“And what did you notice?” Jinyoung asked. <br/>	“He’s been off all day,” Jackson replied. “Getting more flustered by language misunderstandings. Getting upset about being fawned over and called cute. It’s subtle, but he just isn’t acting like our Bammie.” <br/>	“Was he maybe more upset over dance practice yesterday than we realized?” Jinyoung suggested. <br/>	“That wouldn’t make sense with the cute thing, though,” Jaebeom reasoned. “And why wouldn’t he just admit that. We have all gotten scolding in dance practice. It’s not like he is alone in that. No offence to Youngjae, but that boy gets scolded every other day. Bambam should know that we all understand.” </p>
<p>	They all sat there in silence for a few moments trying to gather their thoughts. </p>
<p>	“What if this isn’t the only night he went out and cried?” Mark asked, causing the other three to look at him in confusion.<br/>	“Do you know something that we don’t?” Jaebeom asked in accusation. <br/>	“Not really,” Mark answered with a shrug. “I’ve just heard the front door close at late hours since Jackson and my room is at the front of the apartment. I always go and check and nothing is out of the ordinary, so I just assumed it was the manager coming back in. What if it’s actually been Bam?” <br/>	“Well, there is only one way to find out,” Jaebeom said with finality. “We wait up tonight and see. I don’t want to confront him and make him feel uncomfortable if we are wrong.” </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>	By the end of the day they had to admit that their plan was going to be hard. Like most days, they were exhausted by the time that they made it back to the door at a late hour. Luckily they got to sleep in a bit the following morning. They didn’t need to be anywhere until early afternoon when they would film an episode for Real GOT7.</p>
<p>	Everyone showered, brushed their teeth, and bid each other a goodnight. Bambam went to his room and waited until he heard the gentle snoring from the bed next to his and then grabbed his phone off of the nightstand and as silently as possible walked through the dorm and out the front door. He sat down just to the left of the door and opened up one of the chat forums to see what those ‘fans’ were saying no. He had just gotten a couple comments in, when the front door of the dorm opened and there stood none other than Im Jaebeom. Without a moment’s hesitation, Jaebeom grabbed the phone from Bambam’s hands to see what he was staring so intensely at. Bambam froze in shock. </p>
<p>	“Why are you reading this absolute shit?” Jaebeom asked, only needing to read a few of the comments to get a gist of what the entire chat thread was about. </p>
<p>	Bambam sat there frozen, unsure of how to respond. Well shit...no one was supposed to find out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Poor Bammie. I was inspired to write this chapter from his what's in my bag video where he talks about how rough he had it right after debut. Seriously, who could hate on one of the most precious and loving human beings?!? </p>
<p>Please let me know what you think and I will hopefully have another chapter up for you here soon. You can bet a group meeting is about to be called.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please let me know any comments, constructive criticism etc. that you have and I will try to get the next installment to you asap :) Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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